Butter Cookies with Frosting....So Addicting!!!!

So, I used to make these with my friend while we had sleepovers in high school.  Usually, it was around 2 in the morning, using baking as an aid in staying up all night.  So, about these cookies...As the title says, very addicting!   They melt in your mouth and are sweet and buttery.  The cookies and frosting are light, and a little crisp.  They're not very good for you, as there is much whipping cream, sugar, and butter, which of course, is a great combination in itself.  Enjoy, and happy holidays!

The Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons granulated sugar

All the cookie ingredients in one bowl!

Instructions:

1. Mix together by hand, not by mixer, all the ingredients.  Make sure everything is incorporated into the dough thoroughly. 
2. Separate into three balls.
3. Wrap in plastic and chill for 1 hour, or until firm.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Roll one ball, until thin, but not transparent.
6. Cut out cookies, and put on a baking sheet. Make sure number of cookies are even.
7. Prick lightly with fork.
8. Sprinkle with granulated sugar.
9. Bake for 9-11 minutes.



Dough all mixed and ready to chill.  I realized that mixing it by hand helps.

10. Repeat with the last two balls or dough.

Frosting...

Ingredients:

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup butter (room temperature) 

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Mix with fork, thoroughly.  Do not use a mixer! (You may add food coloring, if one wishes to.)
2. Take a cooled cookie, and spread frosting on the cookie.  Then, place another on top. Or leave them open-faced, which is also fine!



Yummy!

3. Enjoy!  

Peppermint Bark

So, it's the day after Thanksgiving, and I am still feeling full!  My brother ate around 5 pounds of food....he was his own competition.  Anyway, I love the holiday season, although it will start being very busy at work.  I'm still learning, but I think I will get the hang of it soon.  Alright, now about this recipe.  I do not remember where exactly I found this, all I know is my mom asked to make peppermint bark, and I was up for the challenge.
Turns out, it is not much of a challenge.  Making the bark is foolproof, so without further ado....here is the recipe!

Recipe:

Ingredients:

11.5 oz Dark Chocolate Chips

11 oz White Chocolate Chips

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil (divided into two tablespoons increments)

5-6 Candy Canes, Crushed (you can smash them with a hammer. It worked better than a rolling pin, for me.)

Directions:

1. Take out a small/medium pot with a bowl/pot that fits inside of the first pot.  Make sure the bowl/pot is stable when you balance it over the pot, and does not touch the bottom of the first pot.
2. Fill the first pot with water, to just below where the bowl would touch the water.  Don't let the bottom of the bowl touch the water.
3. Dump the dark chocolate chips in the bowl, along with the two tablespoons of vegetable oil. Mix around with a spatula, until  everything is evenly coated.  Place the bowl on top of the pot, and turn the stove onto medium.
4. Mix the chips periodically with the spatula, until they are melted.
5. Meanwhile, place a sheet of foil in a 9x9 baking dish. (If you want it thinner, then you can do a larger dish.)
6. After the dark chocolate is melted, pour it in the dish.  You can tilt/shake the pan to evenly coat the bottom of the dish. and refrigerate for 30 minutes-1 hour.
7. Wash the melting dish, and dry thoroughly.
8. Melt the white chocolate using the same steps as you did with the dark.
9. After the dark chocolate has hardened, pour the white chocolate on the dark, and even it out, so it covers the dark.
10. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes on top, pressing them in the white chocolate slightly.
11. Put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes-1 hour.
12. Cut the bark into pieces, however big/small you want.
13. Enjoy!

Upside Down Pumpkin Pie with a Light Caramel Sauce

So, I got this recipe from a teacher, and I do not know where she found it....So, not quite sure how to source this :).  This is pretty much the name, and it tastes out of this world!  I made this with my dear friend, as part of our Halloween festivities-which were very fun.

The Recipe:

 Pie Ingredients:

One 29 oz. can or two 15 oz. cans pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)

1 can evaporated milk (12 oz.)

1 cup golden brown sugar (light is fine to use, as well)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs

4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

1 tsp. salt

1 package yellow cake mix (18.25 oz.)

2 cups chopped pecans (can omit if allergic)

2 sticks unsalted butter, melted (1 cup)

Caramel Sauce:

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter

2 cups light brown sugar

1 cup heavy cream

Melt butter, stir in brown sugar and cream. Cook over low heat until blended. Serve warm.
 

Mixing the ingredients :)

Step #3!!

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. To make filling, in a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, milk, eggs, spices and salt.
3. Grease a 9" pie dish. Line with 14 inch piece of waxed paper or foil, for easy removal.  (Live and learn....)  Pour filling into paper.
4. Sprinkle top with cake mix and then with nuts, if using. Drizzle melted butter over.
5. Bake on the middle rack in a 325 degree oven for 55 to 60 minutes, until the top is deeply browned and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
6. Cool completely
7. Refrigerate for at least four hours, or overnight.
8. Remove from the refrigerator several hours before serving.

To serve:

Turn upside down on a platter.  Carefully pull on waxed paper and lift pie plate carefully from pie. Top with warm caramel sauce.

Hope you all had a great Halloween!  I had a lot of fun making this, and another post will be up soon :).  Thank you to my friend who helped with the recipe!

 

Sickness...bleh. But I have a way to help! Apple Cider Vinegar Drink Thing

So, I recently have been sick..for a day with some kind of throat condition.  Since I really do not like feeling ill,  I try to get over it as fast as I can.  This is my dad's drink recipe...I warn you, it doesn't taste wonderful, but gets the job done.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

As much water that you can fit in the mug, without danger of splashing

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 or 3 tablespoons of honey (or more)

Instructions:

1. Microwave/Heat the water until it is hot, but not so it will burn your tongue. Which is very annoying. :(
2.  Mix in the apple cider vinegar and honey.

Not very tasty, but it really does help.

 

First post! Marbeled Cheesecake Squares

Well, I was looking for an awesome recipe to put on here, and decided to go with a cheesecake.  I do not usually like cheesecake, as it is dense and makes me think I am eating straight up cream cheese with added vanilla.  (Which is cheesecake....basically.)  However, I found a recipe on Cooking Light's website that looked delicious and not too thick.  Sadly, I would insert more photos (here), but I only took one picture with my phone.

What I liked:  This display photo from the website is not hard to recreate.  I like to have my food look presentable.  Which is sometimes hard for me, as I am not a creative person. So, I tend to enjoy the recipe even more if all I have to do is drop pools of dark chocolate on cheesecake, and swirl them around.  The taste was delicious.  It is rich, but not in a guilty way...in my opinion.  If it comes from Cooking Light, then it cannot be horrible for you, right, ;)?  Anyway, lots to like about this recipe, even if you are not a big fan of cheesecake.

Disliked:  While making the filling, I felt paranoid because it was lumpy.  However, those baked out.  Not really any dislikes, whoohoo!

The Recipe:

(Once I get a camera, I will put step-by-step pictures on here.)

Ingredients:

1 Oreo Cookie Crust (the original recipe calls for crumbs, but this saves time)

2 tablespoons butter, melted (I changed it from 1 to 2)

2  (8-ounce) blocks fat-free cream cheese, softened

1  (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened (I actually switched it around, I put 2 blocks of 1/3 fat, and 1 block of fat-free, because I made the mistake at the grocery store.)

1  cup  sugar

3  tablespoons  all-purpose flour

1  tablespoon  vanilla extract

3  large egg whites (If you get some of the yolk in, it does not affect the taste.  Just the healthiness level)

1 egg

1 oz semisweet (dark) chocolate (I used two, but either way is fine)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Dump the Oreo crust in a 9 in. * 13 in. pan.  (I used nonstick, but don't think it really matters to much., as there is butter in the crust....)
3. Pour the melted butter over the crust. mixing it until the butter and crust is incorporated, and add more if needed.
4. Flatten the crust with the backside of a fork~this is easier than using your hands, which have an uneven surface.
5.  Bake for 8 minutes.
6. Take out and while it cools, make the cheesecake.
7. In a large bowl, mix together all of the cream cheese until "smooth".  It's best if an electric mixer is used.
8. Mix in sugar and flour.
9. Add all the other ingredients left, except the chocolate.  Mix until smooth and blended.
10. Pour the mixture onto the cooled crust in the pan. Don't put it in the oven just yet!
11. Melt the chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds or so~The original recipe said 45 seconds, but that was too long....
12. Drop pools of the melted chocolate on the cheesecake, and swirl them around.  Try not to get too deep in the cheesecake (unless you want it that way, then by all means swirl as deep as you want.)  It baked to the surface for me though.
13. Bake for 35 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
14. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours at least (The original says 4, but...I was in a time crunch.)
15. Enjoy!

So, I hope this was clear, and this is the link to the original...click here for the orignal!

Have a nice day/evening and a new post will be up fairly soon!

P.S. Almost forgot-picture!

I do not own this picture! It belongs to Cooking Light!  My own will be up soon!